"He named a noxious weed after a German botanist he disliked [Siegesbeckia orientalis, Johann Siegesbeck, who had called his work "loathesome harlotry"] and the entire toad family after a French rival -- names we still use today," writes Robert Lee Hotz re Linnaeus, the 18th-century Swedish naturalist who gave the world modern taxonomy, the science of classifying organisms -- on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the great man's birth. In celebration, "Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson and his colleagues launched the new online Encyclopedia of Life with $12.5 million from the MacArthur Foundation and the Sloan Foundation." Were Tiny (lurking, above left) a namer of species like Linnaeus, she would no doubt rename a certain noxious rodent after her brother, Baby (lounging, above right). Babycakesia chelseana, anyone?
"In what was another laughable scare tactic, Gore noted global warming worsens various diseases" including Lyme Disease, wrote 15-year-old Portland, Maine high school student Kristen Byrnes, whose extra-credit project in her Honors Earth Science class is a masterful fisking -- with linked footnotes -- of Al Gore's manmade-global-warming scam, "An Inconvenient Truth." News Busters has been on the case touting the young Mainer's website "Ponder the Maunder" for a couple of weeks -- noting the MSMs apparent lack of interest in the youthful truth-seeker's off-template critique of the party line of the "debate-is-over" crowd and their media allies -- and now The Anchoress issues a must-read challenge: Will Gore debate Kristen Byrnes on Global Warming? [Sound of crickets chirping] If Mr. Gore trembled in his boots at the thought of debating "The Skeptical Environmentalist" author Bjorn Lomberg, Ms. Byrnes's scientifically sophisticated analysis of the good, the bad and the ugly in his chicken-little message must surely dissolve him into a puddle of primordial ooze.
"That is why the weather guy [New Zealand's favorite weatherman, Augie Auer] said that in 5 years global warming will be a joke," wrote Kristen, who runs rings around the UN climate panel's flawed, politically driven analysis of a recent period of drought in Australia. The big guys said it was caused by our species' CO2 emissions and would only get worse. Based upon her study and analysis of the El Niño/El Niña and solar cycles from NOAA and other online sources, Kristen accurately predicted Australia's drought was most likely on the wane. You right, mate?
Her straight-faced fisking of Al Gore's dishonest and tendentious list of illnesses allegedly made worse by human-induced global warming is a hoot. Here's what she had to say about Lyme Disease, in the news today because NY Sen. Chuck Schumer, his eyes on the prize -- destroying "what's left of the Bush presidency" -- forgot to spray with Deet and tuck his trouser bottoms into his socks when he went trudging through field and forest recently during a damned dam tour in the Hudson Valley region. The old boy came home to discover a deer tick embedded in his leg, with the tell-tale "bulls-eye" mark of Lyme Disease spreading out red and angry. He should have read Kristen's common-sense "tips on prevention":
Lyme Disease. Spread to humans by ticks. More people are becoming infected because more people are moving into the wooded areas where ticks live. Lyme Disease is also common among hikers and people who spend time in the outdoors, especially those people who do not take the proper precautions. If you live in a wooded area or spend a lot of time in the outdoors, take precautions and educate yourself about the symptoms of Lyme Disease.
We've found more than one deer tick embedded in our flesh through the years, usually brought in by the puddies. Lyme Disease untreated can lead to debilitating nerve damage. Note to self: Remember to apply Tiny and Baby's Frontline Plus for cats (Kills fleas, flea eggs, ticks & chewing lice) before we head Down East this afternoon to Goomp's for Mem Day festivities.
It is most encouraging to hear of a young woman such as Kristen Byrnes who listens to and acknowledges the fact that the temperature of the earth changes and that the extent and direction are not facts written in the cult of Al Gore.
Posted by: goomp | May 26, 2007 at 03:23 PM
When I was a child (forty years ago) we took the proper precautions against ticks as a matter of course. Now we know several people with Lyme Disease. What's wrong with following Mom's advice? We all seem to think we know so much better now.
Global warming and cooling have been happening for eons. One minute they are screaming warming and greenhouse, the next they whine that a new Ice Age will be upon us.
My studies in Earth Science indicated that we can expect if we live a few centuries.
Hate to be the wizened old lady who smiles and says, "That's nice, Al." Still, if we watch the Discovery Channel, one day it's the one, another day it's the other.
Lucky for all these fear-mongers, few of us will live to prove or disprove their alarms. They can collect their royalties and find something else to hawk in the meantime.
Posted by: pb | May 26, 2007 at 03:24 PM
What an impressive young woman. There is hope for science yet! Thanks for the pointer Sissy - I hadn't seen this one.
Baby looks so cute and comfy in that chair... I think cats like global warming. *grin*
Posted by: Teresa | May 26, 2007 at 05:38 PM
The summer before my son was a firstie at West Point he went to Sandhurst for summer training. He loved meeting the guys at Sandhurst and made some great friends. They were sent to Germany for training out in the woods and my son and his buddies reveled in the outdoors training.
He was amazed by the Gurkhas training with them. One night while sleeping outdoors he was bitten by a tick but didn't notice.
After the two week training was over he came home to see us at Fort Sill for a few days before he was due back at West Point.
He noticed a ringworm like outbreak under his arms but we couldn't get him to go to the doctor.
Back at West Point, he came down with a fever and his roommate noticed the rash and urged him to get to the doctor. It was Lyme Disease. He had to be on some high powered antibiotics for several months. So far, no damage but that really scared us.
Posted by: Laura Lee Donoho | May 26, 2007 at 06:47 PM
Laura - I'm glad they caught it in time. Hope the antibiotics fixed him up 100%!
Posted by: Teresa | May 27, 2007 at 03:34 PM
Thanks Teresa. It happened ten years ago in his last year at West Point. He hasn't shown any ill effects so I believe the medicine did its job.
Posted by: Laura Lee Donoho | May 27, 2007 at 11:33 PM